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“Gatling Gun Parker” At the Battle of San Juan Hill
By Jim ForalAlong with the news of the American battleship Maine’s suspicious sinking in Havana harbor in February 1898 came the unmistakable scent of war. Read more
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Siegfried Line: Breaking the Dragon’s Teeth
By Allyn VannoyAs the battalion officers surveyed the terrain before them, they must have been worried about the men who would have to cross it—the 300 yards of open ground to the banks of the Saar River lined with barbed-wire, concrete pillboxes, anti-vehicle “dragon’s teeth,” and reinforced with minefields in depth known as the Westwall or, more commonly, the “Siegfried Line.” Read more
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Parrdeberg Drift: Colonials to the Rescue
By Bernd HornOn October 11, 1899, Great Britain officially went to war with the Republic of Transvaal and the Orange Free State. Read more
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Combat Command: Glory in the Wrenches
By Allyn VannoyThe U.S. Army’s drive across France and Belgium during the late summer and fall of 1944 was made possible by the support of the logistics and maintenance personnel that performed their duties magnificently—but received little credit or glory. Read more
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Petersburg’s Broadway Landing: Union Supply Depot
By Nicholas BolashIn 1864, the Civil War was raging across the United States. At the epicenter of the seemingly stalemated conflict was the vital Confederate stronghold at Petersburg, Va. Read more
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Warsaw Rising: The Battle for Poland’s Capital
By Peter ZablockiPolish General Tadeusz “Bor” Komorowski knew the fight for the Old Town Warsaw was over. His last hope—and that of his army—was to slip out unnoticed and move the headquarters position to the town center. Read more
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Gonzalo de Cordoba: Grand Captain of Renaissance Warfare
By Louis CiotolaThe Spanish Empire is best remembered for its great voyages of exploration, its conquest of the New World, and its mighty Armada. Read more
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Japanese submarine I-19 was the scourge of the Pacific.
By Glenn BarnettAfter the Great War, the leading naval powers met to try to avoid another ruinously expensive arms race and, hopefully, prevent future wars. Read more
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Famous Military Generals: Chabrias the Athenian
By Charles HilbertOn a warm summer day in the year 378 BC, a large Spartan army stood baffled on the plain of Boeotia in central Greece. Read more
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The Battle of Garfagnana: Italy’s ‘Battle of the Bulge’
By James BilderThere are important similarities between Hitler’s final great push into Belgium and Luxembourg and Mussolini’s drive south of Garfagnana. Read more
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The Rockets’ Red Glare: The Story of Fort McHenry
By Blaine TaylorBy the late summer of 1814, the invading British Army had routed the entire American Army—both federal and state troops—on the Eastern Seaboard of the United States. Read more
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As a teen, she worked at a concentration camp in Poland. At 97, she went on trial for her Nazi past.
German prosecutors continue to go after anyone associated with the Third Reich’s concentration and death camps with a tenacity that would make Hitler’s victims proud. Read more
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Famous Military Spies: Ralph Van Deman
By Peter KrossIn the long history of American military intelligence, the names that come to mind most often are those of Nathan Hale, Benedict Arnold, Herbert Yardley, and William Donovan. Read more
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Inside the OSS: An Interview With Elizabeth P. McIntosh
By Bob BerginThe Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was America’s first strategic intelligence organization. President Franklin D. Roosevelt authorized its establishment on June 13, 1942, six months after World War II began, to collect and analyze strategic intelligence and to conduct special services, including subversion, sabotage, and psychological warfare. Read more
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Five Hills at Dien Bien Phu
By John WalkerIt began with the now-familiar sound, like thunder, coming from the hills to the northeast of the entrenched camp, as hidden Viet Minh mortar and artillery sites began raining destruction down upon the French fortifications in the Dien Bien Phu valley. Read more
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Franz von Papen: Vice Chancellor of Nazi Germany
By Scott A. BealOn May 31, 1932, Franz von Papen achieved the pinnacle of a long career serving his country when, in a surprising move, the aging President Paul von Hindenburg named him Chancellor of Germany. Read more
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The distinctive white helmets worn by guards during the Nuremberg trials became symbols of ultimate justice.
By Mark SkrzynskiOn October 16, 1946, between 1 and 3 AM, American military police escorted 10 condemned high-ranking Nazi prisoners to their execution by hanging. Read more
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Roman General Flavius Aetius
By Mark S. LongoIn many ways, Flavius Aetius personified the tumultuous changes that rocked the Western Roman Empire during its final years. Read more
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WWII Tanks: Italy’s Failed Iterations
By Arnold BlumbergAlthough it suffered, like all combatants, from the costly stalemate and horrendous casualties of trench warfare during World War I, Italy never used tanks during that conflict. Read more
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The History of the Sword
By William J. McPeakPerhaps no other weapon in human history has lent itself so well to so many combat adaptations as the sword. Read more
